French Film Festival at Brown University

Brown University presents its annual French Film Festival from February 19 through March 1.Cable Car Cinema204 South Main StreetProvidence, Rhode Island401-272-3970$8.50 general admission$6.50 student admission$50 for 8 general admissions$38 for 8 student admissionsTickets can be purchased at the Cable Car Cinema on the day of the screening beginning at 11 am.

L’?ge des t?n?bres (Days of Darkness)DIRECTED BY Denys ArcandCanada | 2007 | 104 mnCAST Marc Labr?che, Diane Kruger, Sylvie L?onard, Caroline N?ron, Rufus WainwrightThis sly comedy/drama, which has been compared to American Beauty, can be thought of as director Arcand’s third offering in a trilogy of The Decline of the American Empire (1986) and The Barbarian Invasions (2003).Jean-Marc, a civil servant in a "Bartleby the Scrivener" job, is in a mid-life crisis and has taken to disappearing into an elaborate fantasy life where he is free to be famous, suave and sought-after. When his successful wife leaves him for a career opportunity and his ailing mother places demands on him, his real life begins to lose out to the dream world.

Azur et AsmarDIRECTED BY Michel OcelotFrance | 2006 | 99 mCAST (voices) Cyril Mourali, Karim M’Riba, Hiam Abbass, Patrick TimsitDirector Ocelot continues his journey of animation and produces his signature stunning look as well as a strong narrative. Azur, the son of a nobleman, and Asmar, the son of a nanny, are raised nearly as brothers Asmar’s mother. As children they hear many enchanting stories, but their favorite is the tale of the Djinn fairy who waits to be released by a noble prince. The boys are separated when Azur is sent for schooling and Asmar and his mother must fend for themselves. Years later they are reunited, but find they must compete against each other to free the Djinn fairy. BluffDIRECTED BY Simon-Olivier Fecteau + Marc-Andr? LavoieCanada | 2007 | 88 mCAST R?my Girard, Pierre-Fran?ois Legendre, Julie Perreault, Isabelle BlaisFirst-time directors. While conducting the final safety check of a building slated for demolition, a worker makes a discovery that predicts the tragic end for one of the building’s past tenants. So begins a review of the lives of the unusual cast of tenants - the burglar planning his final job, the couple searching for a lost painting, the aging boxer challenging his daughter’s new boyfriend, the stressed grad student searching for a job, the couple trying to have a baby. They all have something to hide. Rumor has it that you should stay for the final scene after the credits.Capitaine AchabDIRECTED BY Philippe RamosSweden/France | 2007 | 105 mCAST Denis Lavant, Jacques Bonnaff?, Bernard Blancan, Jean-Fran?ois St?veninFrench arthouse cinema vs. 1950s Hollywood epic ... Philippe Ramos vs. John Huston ... Capitaine Achab vs. Moby Dick. This is a retelling of Herman Melville’s famous tale from the perspective of Captain Ahab. The stylized portrait pokes and questions Ahab’s monomania. Each chapter is told from the point of view of a key person in Ahab’s life from childhood up to the Pequod’s fate - delivered in Melvillean speak. This whale-less Captain Ahab has some jaw-dropping cinematography and a provocative use of sound and music.La capture DIRECTED BY Carole LaureFrance/Canada | 2007 | 92 mCAST Catherine de L?an, Laurent Lucas, Francis Ducharme, Pascale Bussi?resTo look at Rose - a happy 20-year-old professional dancer - no one would suspect the past traumas that continue to haunt her. Although she is settled in her life with boyfriend Nathan in Montreal, she is still anxious about her family. After an absence of two years, she returns to the family home, to find that her violent father is still tormenting her mother and brother. She decides the time has come for her to take charge of the situation....Un dimanche ? KigaliDIRECTED BY Robert FavreauCanada | 2006 | 118 mCAST Luc Picard, Fatou N’Diaye, Vincent Bilodeau, Celine BonnierBased upon the Gil Courtemanche’s book Un Dimanche a la Piscine de Kigali, a middle-aged Canadian journalist visits to Rwanda to make a documentary about AIDS. He falls in love with a Rwandan woman, but is forced to leave her and the country as tensions between the Tutsis and Hutus escalate. Months later he returns. A million Rwandans have been massacred. The devastation wrought by the genocide is a stark contrast to the earlier time in the country. Comparisons with Hotel Rwanda and the spate of narrative films about Western journalists on assignment in an African country are inevitable. It is curious how those films raise various issues and associated tragedies but then eclipse them with a love/separation/reunion plot axis....